Nashville SC vs Inter Miami CF CONCACAF Round of 16 Preview Made by Headliner

[Applause] hello everyone welcome to another episode of Messi and Co I am Ashley here with my amazing co-host Gian and today is an exciting episode because the it is the official preview episode of inter Miami versus Nashville SC in the round of 16 conaf Champions Cup match that's going to be taking place tomorrow at 900 p.m Eastern 8:00 pm Central Time in Nashville at geodas Park um it will be available on Fox Sports and at wait Gian you have to say that you to the so the I knew it too and I I said I literally just said it to him beforehand I'm like what a fun way to say it to the in it okay um but yeah so first of all I want to check in after we did our uh live stream on Monday which was awesome and we had a lot of great interaction talked about a lot of great topics uh but how are you doing Gian uh I'm doing great I'm doing awesome on the eve of what is to be a really uh I think a really good measuring point for inter Miami um you know as we've been pretty successful I think the first couple of games so tomorrow's going to be a big tournament for us something that we've been looking forward to um something that we earned because we won the leagues cup uh last season so this is exciting and um just to I guess point back to what you said we had a great little live episode on Monday that was actually fun fun to interact with everybody fun to get questions opinions and uh I hope that we can do a lot more of those so yeah we're excited and uh ready to get started on on this preview yeah agreed I and I you know what I think that's actually a really great place to start by the way uh for everyone who's looking for the video version of this this is actually an audio only preview uh for for the for the game tomorrow um we will be posting it on YouTube uh but it will be Audio Only in terms of the content you're getting uh and yeah we just want you to still listen give your opinion give your thoughts we'll be back with video uh Thursday or excuse me no tomorrow post game for our postgame live stream that is probably going to happen around 11 pm Eastern you know give or take when the game ends uh but yeah so make sure you are you're listening to this full episode but yeah you know I think that's a really good place to start is that not the last time we played them because we played them in in a somewhat meaningless game towards the end of the season but you know last year we faced Nashville SC in the finals of the leagues Cup in Nashville at geotus Park and uh it was pretty it was a pretty intense game obviously it was a one-1 draw and we ended up going to penalty kicks and won but what are your feelings about it Gian and and seeing that we're going to be playing them again in in a really intimidating atmosphere where you know lots of yellow it's a really cool Stadium I've passed it in Nashville and they did a really great job of of creating a really cool environment but yeah how are you feeling about that just from a not even on the field just off the field just the environment the atmosphere yeah I think it's really exciting I I remember um well actually we were together watching that game you and I over ATS yeah at a brewery here if you don't know what she's referencing and you haven't heard it on the other podcast she's talking about a video where uh we caught every penalty on film that was on YouTube and it ended basically the video ended with me taking my shirt off and running around um and I forgot that I was being filmed and that ended up being the video that has the most views till date uh so lucky or unlucky for me but yeah that now it's great check it out I'll it but that's what she's talking about but yeah like I I mean the atmosphere was great last time probably one of the most thrilling games that we've watched in history for inter Miami against Nashville in that crazy um very even game in uh the um the leagues Cup Final in Nashville and I mean if it's anything like that tomorrow we're in for a treat um but we'll talk a little bit about more on expectations soon about that but yeah that was thrilling that was a game where we saw I I can't I lost count of how many penalties I think it must have been like 20 penalties or over 20 penalties like it went down at least at least 11 because it ended with the goalkeeper so I guess 22 yeah yeah yeah so like 22 penalty kicks we had action from beginning to end we had a a game that was extremely even a game where Messi was the hero early on where he scored an amazing goal if we can remember that one goal that it was I believe it was a deflection off of a Nashville Defender where Messi gets dribbles a couple times has four Defenders around him finds like an inch of space and is able to put the ball yeah like a centimeter of space like even on the replay it was just tough to find how the heck he got that off and it's just a curler to the left side like right in the angle uh top angle of the of the goal so that was that was just beautiful and then um remember compana had the Miss at the last minute Gana in the 92nd minute Gana has a a beautifully placed ball uh from I believe it was buset puts it in behind the defender and then it ends up being kanana by himself against the goalie Gana chips the goalie goes around him the ball goes long he slides with his left and tries to tap it in and it hits the goal post it hits the goal post and goes out in the 92nd minute that was wow yeah that was quite a game I'm I'm already like getting excited about you know so yeah if any if it's anything like that we're in for a treat for sure yeah absolutely and I mean I think you know to that point uh Nashville will be coming hungry to it and you know knowing how things ended last time when they were playing a game that had a lot of significance um they still have a lot of their core pieces they have Hy mdar who just signed an extension I believe today through 2027 so he'll be staying around for a while um Walker Zimmerman who's obviously a US Men's National Team player they have a good squad and uh so far this season two games in they actually have only had two draws so they haven't quite begun to I guess you know light up the the fields and get a goals and and stuff sort of where they were in form last year uh but it's still early so we'll see we'll see a pick up but you know this is this is a huge game with a lot of implications we've talked about it multiple times and so have everyone you know in the in the chats and comments you know we're all pretty much a consensus that the most most important tournament and trophy that inter Miami want to win this year is the conaf Champions Cup obviously MLS League you know I'm hoping we win and we make it for in the playoffs but the Champions Cup opens up so many doors both domestically and internationally for for the club champion for the team the fact that next year they get to play the Champions League F you know the Champions League winner in Europe and and all you know in Asia and uh um just it's it's such an important tournament and also you know like the winner of Brazil and and in South America it's it's really important and it's great for the global recognition of the team so it's a super important tournament it's a super important game we just had an excellent showing versus Orlando City can we keep up the momentum can we keep up you know showing that we are the best team in the league uh with some roster changes that are going to now be in effect that we'll get to in a minute but yeah a lot of wait really exciting yeah the the most if probably I would say most clubs are going to agree that it's the most prestigious tournament that they can win at this level um right up there like for European teams a Champions League in most cases you're going to want to put that that trophy at first and then comes the league um yeah so yeah it would be huge for in Miami to win that it'd be huge for inter Miami to win that in with it fourth season um that would be just like insane um insane and and for it to be messy like imagine mess adding another piece of very important silverware to his his plate that that would be just incredible as well um and into Miami we know they're trying to go Global we know they're trying to to do big things on the world stage PR season taught us anything yeah exactly if preseason taught us anything so that would be uh big for them as well in their Journey to becoming a global Club um and then finally you know beating I I think going into the Champions Cup like Mexican teams tend to be the favorites so being able to go in there as an MLS team and and coming out a winner and taking that champ Champions League Cup is going to kind of help us also um help MLS as a leagues and their kind of contribute to their growth and um go to what what their goal is is basically to say we're a better League than than League Imes and that's what they've been trying to prove that's where they're trying to bring in um not only Messi but also younger players from South America and uh other bigname talents so that they can compete with leagues like Le so yeah it'd be huge huge for us and uh tomorrow is the first step in that Journey 100% And yeah so I mean the energy should be there the excitement the gravy toss you know it's part of what in Miami has wanted to invest in is for these moments so we are so excited and now that we've talked a little bit about sort of off the field and And the emotions and the bigger conversation I think uh let's let's get to let's get to on the field um just like I alluded to a little earlier we obviously have made some big roster changes just from Saturday to now uh with two of the most notable being that we've traded DeAndre Yedlin and we've also traded uh John Mota who are both and while Mota hadn't been playing that much obviously he still warming up and he had a very bad injury last year he was an important part of that Midfield depth and DeAndre Yen obviously was our starting right back so uh for this immediate game what do you think is going to be like what we see in terms of the first roster changes reflected uh in the starting lineup from from what we just talked about oh and also rodando Federico rodando who I'm sure we're about to mention uh has had his paperwork cleared and has had his first practices with inter Miami his first media Etc and is fully part of the team so so Gian what do you think starting with starting with uh DeAndre edlin and then maybe into the Midfield what what do you think those first changes are going to look like yeah so starting with DeAndre Yedlin that's a big hit uh on the club most definitely especially when you don't have a natural right back at that position um that was um and even T Martino actually spoke on that uh today he had a his press conference actually like 30 40 minutes ago over at geotus Park and um he alluded to the fact that they don't have any specific right back on the team right now so he's in recognition of that and um he was saying that an option at that position could be Ian fry which is actually something that we had spoken about um in one of our episodes we had spoken about Ian Frey possibly being uh an option there especially when he comes back right now he's still he's still Rec uh recovering from injury we saw that he was doing some individual training on the field this week so that's always a good sign but for now with with him out with ianf Frey not necessarily being available yet you could definitely see gresle um going into that position and start at at right back tomorrow he's a very um he is a very versatile player he's played in the Midfield very well as we've seen so far this season in his former clubs he's also played at the right back position so that's something that we can definitely see moving forward is seeing him play that position until and if um again players like Ian fry come into the picture or if there is another signing so um that's going to be interesting because we saw that gresle actually excelled in the Midfield he did very well for us in the Midfield um started off a little bit on the wrong foot first game um but has progressively found his footing and has done better and he actually had I believe it was two assists last game against Orlando city so moving him to that right back position um gets him out of the Midfield but at the same time the way inter Miami plays they very much use that left back and right back positions to help in the attack so he'll still get his opportunities to be able to place those centers or place those balls into Messi or into Suarez so I don't think we'll lose too much especially uh uh I don't think we'll lose too much from gresle especially because of the way inter Miami plays but that's definitely something that I think um we'll see and then um as far as the Midfield is concerned I mean if you've watch if you've seen our tweets we recently tweeted how how much depth inter Miami has at the Midfield position they can do so many things there even if gresle isn't there because he's in the defense and especially as you alluded to Ashley with Rondo coming in and and uh Tata actually said um in his press conference about 45 minutes ago that he is available for tomorrow so we could very much see a Midfield of Rondo buset and Gomez or or um Rondo buett and um well I I think it's going to be those two but if it's not you always have Ruiz that can also play there you have um Robert Taylor depending if he's not playing another position maybe up at the wing but yeah there's a lot of stuff that you can do I don't know what do you think what would you like to see at the Midfield yeah I I agree with that everything you said I think the back four is going to be um Alba uh F FR that's time I said it right uh Ailes and and Julian gresle as the right back um Midfield three I think it's going to be buset Gomez and and Rodondo unless uh unless Rodondo you know unless they feel like it's so far behind I think he's going to be starting tomorrow and if not it would be Ruiz I don't see it being any other option but that like like I said I think it's going to be rodando if not it's 100% going to be Ruiz uh and then it's going to be the same front three of Suarez Messi and Robert Taylor uh and and to your point you know because now gressle is obviously so great uh offensively moving forward and and great at picking passes and picking runs something that you know DeAndre struggled with a bit with was his forward you know his final ball um I think that we're going to really get to see of the 433 at its best and kind of how it's intended to be play and how Tata has always wanted to play so yeah that's that's what I see the the starting lineup being I think it's going to be basically the same I don't think there's going to be many changes except in terms of tactics yeah yeah ex tactics and as far as even a Personnel aside from again trying to plug that right back position because I thought that was asked that specific question earlier on today and he said look we've found success in what we've done so far these last couple of games in regards to formation he said when you're producing meaning making goals when you're scoring it's hard to go in and change what's already working um he said the only change that we have to make is at the right back position so that leads us to think that we're probably going to see a very similar team with swades up front with Messi up front with Taylor up front when that's what's been working for inter Miami so far so yeah I I think we're going to see the the same team um one thing I wanted to to mention actually is the importance of going into geotus tomorrow and making sure that we're as we're an aggressive team and that we we don't necessarily go in with a we're a visitor mentality because right you want to go in there and and and play your game and Inter Miami is a is a very good attacking team as we've seen scored five goals against Orlando they're a team that needs that in order to be um successful needs to have the ball in their possession and they need to be able to build the attack they're not a counterattacking team they're more of a keep possession of the ball and and build off of that so I think that it's important for inter Miami as they go into tomorrow is not to say hey we're going to give up possession the ball we're going to wait for you to decide what you're going to do Nashville and we're going to wait to to kind of respond to that and give them the the ownership of the ball the ownership of the game and say hey we're going to respect your house I don't think that that would be prudent and I don't think that that's what D is is going to do especially knowing that in this case a away goals do count um so that's something important to to make sure that we need to score tomorrow because you don't want to go into tomorrow's game not score or go in go in with tie yeah and go with a tie and then you're basically giving natural opportunity come to chase Stadium next week and all they have to do is if win by one goal and then you know they basically have the game in their hand so I think that that's going to be important for us as we go into tomorrow's game is making sure we do take the Reign and make sure that we're in control of tomorrow's game 100% agree I mean you know one factor is that obviously Han MTAR for who's the star of Nashville hasn't played in the last few matches because he had a hamstring injury that he got during the first conqu Champions Cup match that they played uh but the coach has you know made some comments that his recovery has gotten better um I think he's probably gonna play tomorrow I'd be you know unless it's been such a bad setback they said it was it was in the air but you know for a game of this importance because he didn't play the last two games uh for Nashville I think he will be playing and they do have their own offensive Firepower and especially if MTAR is playing you know it it it means that they're going to be they're going to be on their front foot and uh and look to your point in terms of pressure and and going into you know geod Park and understanding what we have to do look our front our our four Barcelona boys and all have played at the burnau they've played at Wembley Stadium they've played at Old Trafford you know they have played at in hostile environments I think that jotas Park probably isn't high on their list of hostile environments that they've had to play in but more but obviously you know for the other players it could be and and I think it's important that that this is instances where not just on the pitch in terms of play but the leadership of of of these Talisman to be able to to to calm everyone's nerves and to be able to play their style of game their game plan their best you know beneficial aspects of their game what they practice what they work towards what they know that they can accomplish and these will be instances where we see that that experience and Leadership I think come to fruition yeah I I think that I think tomorrow is going to be tough when you're trying to figure out like what to expect um because I'm I'm not 100% convinced on Nashville and I don't know what type Nashville team we're going to see tomorrow just because going back to your point about hany MTAR and how important he is to to Nashville how much of a threat he is like we saw uh Haney MTAR play in the first game against Moka FC yeah in the first round of gakov Champions he scored I think within the first 10 minutes and it was uh it was him and um Sam surge Sam surge is their their Center forward they're the play for my team in England named Bournemouth yeah bur I know what team that is yeah that's where I used to live so I always support them but uh Sam surge that's their two best players Sam Surge and hny mukar those are the guys that get things done for them and they play off they play so well off of each other right so in that first game where they played against mocha FC uh in the Dominican Republic they played um the I think the first goal was uh a Hy MTAR goal with an assist from Sam surge yeah then literally like seven minutes later it's a goal by Sam surge off of Haney mukar assist to show you how well they play off of each other and then there was a third goal it's I can't remember who scored that third goal but that's when Haney mugar got I think he got subbed off like at the 35th minute he got injured Sam surge was injured and then they I don't think they've played since that first game then they go and they play the second game for Kaka Champions which is a return game and they end up playing in Nashville they win 4-0 so the total they win with a 70 aggregate those are that's a game where where Sam Serge and hany mdar didn't play at all but um I think Tyler Boyd and what is the other guy there's Tyler Boyd and Chef Sheffield or sherfield or something like that they they played very well they're two Speedy Wingers and they played very well off of each other assisting each other and that sort of thing so they've got two pairs of guys that can play very well off of each other but it's hard to tell for me what type of an Nashville we're going to see because they've played because of those injuries and the four games that they've had so far this season two Champions Cup games and two SE uh two uh season games yeah it's it's been a a different lineup every game and they haven't looked with when Haney MTAR and Sam Serge aren't on the field they don't look good they don't look like a a good team and I'm not going to take that 4-0 uh versus mocha FC game as a game that says hey these guys can play well without Haney and surge because again it was against not a good team mocha FC from the Dominic repon is not the best team or the best judge to judge A team's perform performance off of but when they played against the New York Red Bulls they got dominated yeah New Year Red Bulls completely dominated them they had plenty of opportunities to to score I don't know why they didn't and it ended up being I believe it was a tie game but and New York Red bues have Emil forsberg from who starts for Sweden national team so that be interesting when we see them in a few weeks yeah but that national team actually looked completely lost they couldn't they couldn't build they they couldn't hold on to possession of the ball they couldn't build on plays they they basically their whole game plan was basically kick the ball up to the center forward who's in line with with uh New York's defense and hope that somehow there's the defender makes a mistake and the ball gets through which worked like one time so if Haney and cers don't play tomorrow I don't I don't I don't think that um I don't think they stand a chance um if they do then then inter Miami is going to have to make sure they're on top of their game with those two and then also their Defender what was your defender's name again Walker Zimmerman Zimmerman Zimmerman is a guy that can put really good passes from that backfield and he's a guy that actually likes to run to the front and become a part of the offense so I mean that just just to end it's basically it's I don't know what's gonna happen because I don't know who's gonna play I don't know what the lineup is going to be and that's a big competitive advantage to Nashville you know what I mean that's 100% And I guess look we can only wait and see and and you know we'll find out before kickoff like everyone else um but yeah to your point look those are some really huge quality players and whether they play or not obviously is going to make a huge difference in how if Nashville is going to you know park the bus or if they're going to kind of be more free flowing ATT attacking um Walker emmerman went to the World Cup you know he play he played and he uh he is a very good Defender for sure especially in in you know in in Nashville and the team he plays for uh really great job but but we can only we can only wait and see like I said I mean I I don't know so much about Serge's injury but I know that for Han MTAR that I I expect him to play I don't know if maybe it's start maybe he comes in in the 60th minute um I expect him to play tomorrow I'd be surprised if he didn't but we can only predict what we can predict and and on that note I would say let us put in our predictions for tomorrow um we gave our lineups what we think is going to happen uh I think russle will be right back and then just it's going to depend on how comfortable they feel about Rondo but it's either going to be him or Ruiz in the Midfield to take gretel's place and I think everything else is going to remain as is uh score predictions I'll go first this time because I think normally you go first Gian so we'll mix it up um I think na uh inter Miami is going to win 3-0 and I uh look I think that they are going to park the bus and I think that inter Miami are going to be able to break it somewhat easily and then once that happens they are going to have trouble with their back plan uh and while I said mkar may play sturge I don't know they're not at full health obviously and so what you know we saw from the first match that they played uh in the conaf Champions Cup to what we're going to see now I don't don't think it's going to be the same free flowing amazing uh amazing game and and this is midweek this is where they've just had two draws in a row and they're maybe not feeling 100% their best where we just had a dominating five-nil win um I feel good about our chances I really do and and you know we'll see it Champions League Champions Cup it always ends up being closer than what it may look like on paper so maybe 3-0 is obviously it's being very optimistic but I what I saw on Saturday I feel so good about this team and where Nashville clearly right now is struggling in terms of availability and consistency I think we can you know capitalize on it or I'm hoping we do at least so that's where I am yeah I can I can definitely see that three that 3-0 happening it's definitely a realistic result especially if inter Miami continues to click like we saw them against Orlando if that wasn't like a one game you know everybody played at the top of their game and and you know it might not happen as often no if they actually clicked they finally understood how to play together everybody's on their on their you know on the the best of their game like like SWAT is it then for sure I see a three- zero but um I think that inter Miami if they can continue to play like they've played if the Midfield can continue to be as solid as they have disrupting the flow of the offense of the opposing team continuing to take care of the ball as they because early on in the first two games they were giving away balls in the Midfield um are you about to say like 8 Z no not that much I I I do have a score line than you but not 8 Zer all right let's he it but um I think that if they can continue to take care of the ball as they have and buet cleaned that up and and and they did a great job there if the defense can continue to be as good as it looked with freed in that in that uh CB position um and not being afraid to not being afraid against the what's it called the um the set plays and the corner kicks cuz last season we know that that's something that we struggled with very much we are the team that got scored on the most yeah um I think that if that continues and then Suarez is continues to be a monster and messy as he always is then I'm going to give it um I'll give it a four- Zer I'm gonna give it a four- Zer four- Z especially if Serge and mugar don't play if Haney and mugar don't play I promise you these guys in Nashville are not going to stand a chance they they they it's going to look like a complete domination because I looked at these last two games where they didn't have these two guys they looked awful so I think it's going to be a 4- z if they don't it'll be like a 3-1 or 4-1 like let's say mdar does play and shers plays I'll give it like 3-1 or 4-1 but if they don't four- zero for me for sure yeah I agree and I mean to that point like I said even if they're not 100% healthy I'd be very surprised if they didn't play because they know that the second leg is going to be in Miami and they want to you know mitigate damage as much as possible especially in their home field so unless they're super super injured or they're not prioritizing the CH the cona Champions Cup I I think we're going to see you know them try and put out their best front 11 even if not everyone's at full health um but really quickly before we go I did want to just make a quick comment that you know someone who is questionable for inter Miami is is Jordi Alba who is a cold um that's why he didn't practice yesterday but he did travel with the team and you know if we know anything about Jordy Alba and his professionalism and consistency is that unless he has like covid or pneumonia I expect him to be playing tomorrow night and if not look Noah Allen we've talked about him a lot at length he's a very commendable player and I think worse comes to worse he could slot in and we'd still be able to have a good strong inter Miami uh in their Miami back four and starting lineup but I I imagine Jord ABA is gonna be playing yeah I I would agree too I know that uh that said that he wouldn't say if he's going to play because he wants to he he basically said if you want to when he was asked by the reporters he basically said if you want to find out if Jordy ala is going to play go knock on the door and ask him um because he said he wants to keep that competitive advantage and not letting the the opponents know if he's going to be on the field or not so um yeah I agree with you I mean if it's a CO that's manageable um I mean he's not gonna miss the game because of boogers so he's he'll uh he'll definitely be on there um and yeah so agreed and look we are really really excited um we have seen in these first three matches for inter Miami um a completely different Squad and Outlook than we've seen last season you know in three matches we've only let one goal go through and you know with our defense what we've seen that's pretty pretty impressive and uh we're hoping to keep the energy going we have new players coming in we have a really strong Squad a really strong game plan and uh and Mission that I think every player on the team from Messi to Ruiz to kraski to Ailes to whoever randoo all have the same vision in mind and that's to just completely uh change what is North American soccer and the landscape and the talent and the ability and they're doing a great job so far so uh we look forward to tomorrow's game thank you for listening to this preview let us know your thoughts and what your predictions are for the games make sure you're following us on social media Twitter Messi and Co we're also on Tik Tok and on Instagram and obviously YouTube Type in five reasons Sports Messi and Co we will be doing a postgame live stream uh to hopefully talk about another great performance from inter Miami and we're really excited so any last thoughts Gian um no I think you sumed it up very well let's just uh go into Miami and uh I again expect just like you a gool tomorrow awesome all right well thank you guys for listening and we will talk to you more tomorrow